Saturday, July 31, 2010

Wow. July 31st. My little man is now 2 1/2 years old. Besides the fact that he isn't a baby anymore, it is shocking how incredibly fast the last 6 months have gone. Has it really been 6 months since his 2nd birthday? And only 6 more months until he turns 3? It is all passing us by so fast, and I hate that. Slow down little man, stay little a bit longer!Perfect time to talk about several tidbits, I guess. -Now weighs 29.2 lbs, and is 34 3/4 inches long. (if our measurements are correct then he has gained about 1 1/2 lbs since April, and has grown 3/4 of an inch) He wears 2T shirts, and can still wear shorts that are 18-24 months.-is still extremely picky when it comes to eating. Not only is he picky about types of foods, but he is just not a big eater. He will take one bite of something and then say he is done. I would say 95% of his time outs, spankings, crying fits, and us being totally frustrated comes from when he is eating or lack of. He is not a big snacker either. He is not a kid that is cranky if misses a meal...now if he misses a nap that is a whole another story. -toddler bed is still a success. He goes down to bed at night and naps fine still, but no longer stays in his room waiting for us to come get him when he wakes up. He gets out of bed now, closes his door and then will come downstairs all by himself. If we are still sleeping he will climb into bed with us, sometimes will lay there and go back to sleep but mostly will want us to get out of bed immediately. He starts saying he wants chocolate milk the second we make eye contact with him. There has only been a couple times that he will come down from a nap without ever going to sleep, but finds out real quick that he will be walked back to his bed, and this usually is accompanied with lots of crying. He says in his most excited voice "I wake up" when he gets up from a nap. He still requires a lot of sleep. He is the crankiest if he doesn't get a good nap, or wakes up to early in the morning. But a well rested Dane is a happy Dane. -he has gotten really good with saying thank you, please, excuse me, and sorry without being asked. If he is given a new toy, or something he is excited about he will say "tank you mommy tank you mommy" about 100 times over and over sometimes even over a few hours. It is really cute how excited he gets and how thankful he is. We never really have to remind him to say please either. He has gotten this one down pat, and pretty much says it when asking for just about everything. He is really funny when saying excuse me. It is usually when he burps or toots, and he will tell you which he did like "I toot mommy excuse me". Pretty funny. Now with the sorry word, it usually will come when we tell him to say it, or we have to act like we are hurt or upset if he did something to make us feel this way. If you pretend cry you will get a "sawry mommy" pretty quick and he will also kiss your bobo that 90% of the time he had caused. He is really cute when someone sneezes, he will say ahhchoo to you instead of bless you.

-he has learned what a circle, square, triangle, oval, and heart is-he is getting pretty good with the colors red, blue, green, black and yellow (yeyo). Majority of the time if you ask to pick up a certain colored object he can do it with those colors. But, when you ask him the other way like what color certain things are he always says the wrong color. ha And it's usually an off the wall color like orange or pink that he says. So, he gets the concept asked one way, but not the other. Kind of weird.

-can count to 5. But, he will only do it occasionally. He will do 1-3 all the time, but only 4 and 5 come out when we aren't asking him to say it. Little stinker

-he is a talking machine. He is now saying short sentences, repeating just about everything we say, and saying new things just about every day. He says stuff that cracks Kevin and I up constantly, and surprises us with where he learned it. Some of my new favorites- "what you talking about", "are you kidding me", "I need that", "That's nasty", "come on in and play", "It's Dane's turn", "I hold you". He has told Kevin a couple times which makes me laugh so hard to "lay down, I change your diaper", and when meeting someone new he will say "I Dane, that's mommy, that's daddy". he says "what" now when he doesn't want you looking at him. Or if he is doing something he doesn't want you to see he will say "Mommy, go upstairs/or downstairs". Something pretty funny is that he will call his daddy "kevin" sometimes, and even has said on multiple occasions "Honey" to Kevin or "daddy is honey". It's hilarious. The other day we actually got him to put a piece of broccoli in his mouth. He didn't keep it there, but the fact that he actually tried it was great. But, he took it out and said "I can't like that", and Kevin and I just about died. He is pretty funny with things that he says. - He is MR independent these days. He says about 100 times a day "I want to do it". He tries so hard to do everything by himself. He likes to open up jars, and get things out of the fridge or pantry for us.

-has turned into quite the climber the jumper and is fearless now. With this new sense of adventure there are always bruises, and bumps, and bo bo's all over his body. But, he doesn't cry much when he gets hurt unless it really really hurt. He now gets embarrassed though if he falls down, and if you freak out. He doesn't want you looking at him when he is hurt. He will scream " NO NO MOMMY". So not reacting to him falling is what he wants you to do. Little Booger is such a BOY. Rough and tough should be his middle name. I think I have about 50 panic attacks a day watching him jump from things, and fall and all that. But, even with all this crazy energy he is still very playful, sweet and such a happy lil man.

We weren't able to go do the go-karts on Thursday, because it started raining, so we had a wonderful healthy dinner at CICI's pizza. I had to work Friday, but I was able to get off early at 12:30, so I met Kevin and the kids at the go-kart place. Dane wasn't tall enough to be a passenger on the go-kart, so we just watched JT and Lauren ride them over and over. Dane kept saying "Dane too big". Yeah something like that. Lauren had her petal to the metal, and a bit of a speed racer running into anyone that got in her way. JT was more the cautious driver, going the "speed limit", moving over to the side to let others pass, being a pawpaw as Kevin kept saying. Dane had fun cheering for "Warron and TT", and watching all the cars speed around the track. It was so hot, and Dane started getting cranky so I took him back home and Kevin stayed with JT and Lauren and played a round of putt putt. The kids have helped to keep Dane entertained. We dropped them off at the movies last night, and Dane kept asking "where Warron? Where TT". And since they have been in town, our Wii has gotten a ton of action. Something about video games and teenagers, they just can't seem to play it enough.

Anyway, it's been nice having them here for a couple days. We plan on going swimming in a bit, and then heading back to Orange this afternoon.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Ok mom, I know that you have been checking my blog ever since the swim lesson was done today, so click HERE to see it. Today Dane was extra silly during the lesson. He had trouble staying still on the step...so much that the lifeguard that sits near by had to come over and tell him to be careful, because he kept jumping around and stepping off the step. There has been a couple times when Rudy has gone out into the water with another child he has motioned to the lifeguard to "watch" and always points at Dane. haha Thank goodness for the lifeguard that sits close by, since Rudy has 4 children he is dealing with. But, he is doing very good, considering he is two with a short attention span. And every time it is his turn to do the exercise in the water he is very cooperative. On today's agenda was more back floating with less support from Rudy. I think Dane is getting the concept, but is still depending on Rudy's support, but he tries really hard. Also, he had to retrieve a ring again today, but this time it was put on the bottom of the pool. Basically, he held his breath for about 5 seconds to get it. Pretty impressive, I thought. The lessons are pretty similar from day to day, but with extra reps, or changes to make it a little harder. I am videoing each day, just so I can see the progress.

He cracked me up with what he did at the end of the lesson to tell Rudy bye. They have become best of buds. Dane gets 2 days to rest, and then we start back on Monday.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Even though this is a horrible picture of me, and I am looking like a complete rough mess I like this picture that Kevin quickly took of the little man and I from his cell phone yesterday. I was watching Dane's swim videos after work and he climbed up next to me and become quite the cuddle bug. These moments are few and far in between now, Dane is always on the move and he is such a busy bee.

Speaking of swim videos...Click HERE if you want to see the video from today. Lot more back floating took place today, and now Rudy is pretty much only putting his hand under Dane's shoulders and head. And I think he is only doing that now just for Dane's comfort level, because Dane is floating. So, I'm sure by the end he will be able to float by himself, which I believe is one their main goals. Rudy had them float on their back for the width of the pool a couple times, and Dane seems to be getting very comfortable with it.

After swimming Dane and I headed to Baytown to meet my mom halfway to pick up my niece and nephew. They are staying here for the next couple days. So, we have been playing WII all afternoon, and plan on going to ride go-karts and play putt putt this evening. Dane is loving that they are here! Fun times are ahead.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Ok, I know some of you are thinking AHH another swim video??? Well... sorry... I have some people in Orange and New York (grandparents and family) who appreciate this, so yes another video... :)

Dane did SOO good today at swimming lessons. I have to say that I am shocked at how well he is doing. He got over that whole 1st day anxiety, and has proven that he is having a great time, and learning a lot! I hate to say this, but my expectations weren't that high when I signed him up for swimming lessons. I figured that he would just get more comfortable with the water and that was about it. I'm not sure if I am impressed because he is my little man, or that he is really doing that well. But, I have to say I am very proud of him. I thought he would be ok going out into the water, but I also thought he might freak out when having to go under the water or floating on his back. But, he hasn't. He is still in the early stages of doing the back float by himself, but the fact that he lays his head back, and is totally calm just blows me away. Yesterday, he had his head on Rudy's shoulder while he floated, but today he started out like that, but then was able to float with just Rudy's arm under his back. He also went under the water and started kicking his legs today, along with going under water while grabbing a hold of a ring. He tries to blow bubbles by putting his mouth in the water, but hasn't gotten the concept how to make the bubbles yet (he may be like Kevin when it comes to blowing bubbles haha). The fact that he is learning to hold his breath under the water is impressing me also. That is something I have never been that great at, so I am happy that he is getting really good at it. Dane drowning is one of my worst fears, (having a child has caused me to start fearing so many more things than I did before) so I am desperate to have him learn how to swim. And, I have nothing but good things to say about Houston Swim Club, and Dane's pal Rudy, is just really great. He just seems to really enjoy what he is doing, and Dane thinks he is "nice" as he says, which makes it so much easier. Swimming lessons has been fun so far for the little man, and honestly it has been fun for me to watch. I won't say I'm not on pins and needles as I watch from a separate room, but it has been neat to watch what he is capable of doing. I know that he is so so so more cooperative with Ol Rudy then he would have ever been for us!!

Day 2 of swimming was so so so so much better! On the way to the lesson we talked Mr Rudy up so high, and how fun swimming was going to be, and how nice he was etc etc. I was hoping that if we were very positive about how nice Mr Rudy was, and all that it would be easier. Mr Rudy for one just has a name that makes me smile, not sure why. But he is a BIG guy, looks like he should be coaching football or something, the videos don't do him justice. So, it is funny to see this big ol guy taking care of the babies. But, he is really nice, and patient and encouraging to the kids. He gives all the kids hugs after each lesson, which I think is sweet.

When we first walked in the facility and Dane got his chip for the instructor he started saying "no swim", and whining a little bit, and then when the whistle was blown for him to walk in he threw himself on the floor and had to be carried by a lifeguard, so I was a bit nervous. But, when he started crying it wasn't his scared cry like how it was yesterday, it was his 2 year old I want to throw a fit kind of cry... there's a big difference. But, as soon as he got to Mr Rudy all that was completely gone, and he seemed to be excited to be in the water. He had no hesitation what so ever. He was smiling, dancing chit chatting with the other kids in his group. At Houston Swim Club before any kid can do monthly maintenance they have to go through the 2 week everyday swim "boot camp", to get the basics before moving up a level, so he is the youngest in his group. There is a 3 year old little girl, and 2 boys who are probably 4 or 5 years old. He did excellent. He floated on barbells, kicked, went under the water floated on Mr Rudy's shoulder. I was very proud of him today. He didn't seem scared at all during all the exercises. He did go under the water accidentally twice, that freaked me out, one is on the video. The first time he was floating on the barbells, and they were trying to turn to go the other way, and he just let go of them. But, he didn't freak out or anything when he got lifted out of the water. The 2nd time he was playing on the step, waiting his turn to do the activity and pretty much stepped off the step. After the teacher got him, we couldn't hear what he was saying, but it looked like he was scolding him a little to not play on the stairs. haha But, once again Dane didn't seem bothered that he went under. I'm excited to watch his progress over the 2 weeks. I was impressed that he actually laid his head back to do the beginning process of the back float, and that he went under the water with no fuss, and attempted to blow bubbles. He seems so little compared to the other kids in the water. It was a great lesson, and Dane was excited when he saw us afterwards. I think swimming lessons will be something he will enjoy!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Take me out to the ball game. Take me out to the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks...

Yes, another baseball post. Seems like we have been talking about baseball a lot lately. Well, here is another one. Last night the 3 of us went to Minute Maid to watch our two favorite teams play against each other. The Astros vs Chicago Cubs. Kevin lived in Chicago before he met me for a while, so he loves the Cubs.

I know I am going to get persecuted for this, but we wore Cubs shirts!! Hold on hold on, before you start throwing stuff at me, and sending me hate mail let me just defend myself. First of all, Dane doesn't have an Astros' shirt that fits him anymore, and Kevin only has one shirt but he hates it because the way the neck line is. (Remember his random facts). So, they were planning on wearing their Cub's shirts. So, I was debating what team I should wear. At first I was going to wear the Astros shirt, but when I was packing up my clothes yesterday morning to bring to work I couldn't find my shirt. And I wasn't going to run around like crazy looking for it when I had to get to work. Lame excuse, right? Second, I thought it would be cute for us to all match with the same team. Third, we get to root for the Astros all the time, but how often do you get to see a Cubs game??? So we went with the Cubs. But, I will say that we got confused several times during the game, and when the Astros did something good we cheered. haha But, the Cubs ended up winning! Really a win win for us, it didn't really mattered to us who won.

Dane was beyond thrilled to go watch the baseball game, and eat pop corn. He loved it, and had a blast. He cheered, and screamed, and laughed, and got a couple balloons, ate too much junk etc. He was in hog heaven. We didn't get to stay through the entire game, because you can only give Dane so much popcorn and candy and tell him to stop climbing the fence to the field so many times before you just call it a day. But, it was fun seeing our 2 teams play. And, unfortunately the Astros haven't been playing well this year, so it was not a packed house. But, FYI kids are free all summer, which was nice.

Yesterday Dane started his 2 weeks of swimming lessons. I had to work, so Kevin took him and I was really bummed that I was going to miss his 1st day. But, it worked out perfectly because it was a little traumatic for the little man and I think if I would have been there I would have ended up being a big mess as well. Dane was really excited when they were waiting in the lobby for his turn to go swimming. He was pumped, and in a great mood. The way it works is when they get checked in the kids are given a colored token that they are to give to their instructor. Several swimming lessons are going at the same time, so when the kids walk into the pool room the lifeguards know which instructor is theirs. Dane was excited in line, and even walked into the pool room just fine. But, the parents stay behind and we watch from a one sided window. Well, when it was time to get in the pool Dane starts to realize that Kevin is no where to be found. And then he starts freaking out. It is heartbreaking. You can read his lips and he was screaming "daddy". So, he ended up crying for about the first 15 minutes of the lesson, but eventually Mr Rudy was able to distract him with water toys. I had thought if he was to get upset it would be when the teacher was making him do water stuff, but I had no idea that he would get so freaked out when not seeing Kevin. But, it is very loud in the pool room, and I think it just overwhelmed him that he thought he was going swimming with daddy, and then all of a sudden he was gone. But, once he calmed down he did very well in the water. Mr Rudy is very patient with the kiddos.

So, Kevin took lots of videos and pictures from his cell phone for me. He had told me about what happened, but seeing the videos was heart wrenching. So be forewarned you may need some tissues to watch this video. I made a little movie out of all the videos, and only showed him crying for a small portion of it, because it's all I could handle putting in there. It looks like in parts that he is looking straight at Kevin, but he couldn't actually see him. Kevin was behind a glass window where he could see Dane, but the kids in the pool couldn't see in. You will see once he stops crying that he isn't afraid of the water, and does pretty well. I didn't include in this video that Mr Ruby gave him a couple toys, and then he was fine, so this jumps from crying to participating in the water. And all the noise you hear in the beginning is kids that are in the waiting area where Kevin was, you can't actually hear Dane crying. So, 1st day was not how I had hoped it would have gone, and it made me sad that he was blind sided that Kevin wouldn't be in the pool with him, but I was happy that he did ok when he had to go out into the water.

Now after watching this dry up all those tears and don't fret... because day 2 of swimming lessons was a complete opposite experience of this!!! He did so good, and had a blast. So, another video coming soon!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Not much to say, but just thought these pictures were cute that Kevin took today of the little man from his cell phone.

We went to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream this afternoon, and we were shocked when Dane told us that he didn't want ice cream. Crazy. But, he saw the M&M's that are used for toppings on ice cream, and made it quite clear that what he wanted was candy. he thought it was necessary to eat the candy by using a spoon. funny guy. Then we headed to Target to look around, get a couple things, and Dane found this... He had the helmet on, and was holding a glove wanting us to throw a ball into it. I think he is just the cutest!!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

We had absolutely no plans for this weekend, no where to go or nothing to do. So, it was great when our friend Gabe called Kevin this morning and invited us to go to the children's museum with them. It had been a little over a year since the last time we went to the museum, and Dane was in his hip brace then and wasn't able to do everything. The kiddos had a blast. There is so much to do there, the kids were on stimulus overload. Lots of things to push and pull, gadgets to turn this way and that way, things to touch and smell, different areas to "pretend" in, things that involve science, and music, and balls, and ways to learn how things work and how they move and how they are made etc etc... Dane's favorite was getting to pretend to drive in the ambulance and police car (no surprise there), while I think Zach enjoyed pretending to be a vet the most. Sophie was pretty calm and low key today, so I think she was just taking everything in. There is a pretend grocery store that the kids had fun playing in as well. They were able to shop and check out, very cute to watch. Dane "bought" everything that he would normally refuse to eat, which I found to be ironic. We did everything in the museum, wore the kids completely out and then went and grabbed a late lunch at Christy's favorite hamburger joint. It's good to have friends that live close by that we are able to go do things with. We had a great field trip today!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Dane and I left Kevin behind Sunday, and headed to Dallas to visit the Jarmons. I needed a Tabitha fix, and Dane had been saying Gage's name a lot lately, so we just decided to take a road trip to spend some QT. We spent the whole afternoon Sunday swimming in their pool, while Chad grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Dane has turned into quite the water bug now. He is loving the water, and not afraid at all anymore. He even surprised me and wanted to jump off the side 100 times. The 2 little men are so funny together. They are 5 weeks apart, and are the same in so many ways. They have a lot of fun together, but then also agitate each other other times because they always want the same toy. Whatever one has the other wants. Both are obsessed with the same cars (Lightening McQueen) and the same trains, so makes for some interesting play times. haha

Monday we decided to spend the day at a small water park. It was perfect size for us. The boys had a blast, and wore themselves completely out. They got to hang out in a wave pool, do some water slides, and we floated in a small lazy river several times. One bad thing about Dane getting so comfortable swimming while using his life jacket is that he has gotten SO comfortable with the water, and thinks he can swim. We didn't have his life jacket in the park, but he still thought he could do everything without it. He would try to go far out in the water, and would want me to let him go, I think I aged quite a bit during this whole process... Hopefully, swimming lessons will help him to see he has limitations without his life jacket on. But, we had a really good time, and spent several hours there. After we got back from the park the boys took a long needed nap, and then we went swimming again at their house that evening. Lots of water fun the last few days!

It was great to see Tabby Tab, and get the boys together to play. Dane loves his BFF, and we wished they lived closer! There will be lots of road trips for these boys in the future! I just realized I didn't get a picture of Tabitha and I. :(

The boys in their matching swim suits (Gage got Dane this for his bday)Gage giving Dane a BIG hugMr Confident swimming in the waterdoesn't he look cute in this hat?? Gage let us borrow it to protect from the sun since we forgot out hatBubbles!Relaxing after a day of swimmingnext 2 are little blurry... but they were holding hands dancing to the music... it was hilarious!playing carsleaning the same wayhaving some candy after a long day at the parkBrown eyed princeBIG CHEESEComparing their ring pops